Federal ombudsperson suspends two senior BISP officials in Punjab

ISLAMABAD: Federal Ombudsperson against Harassment on Monday suspended two senior officers of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) Punjab, over a complaint filed against them, ARY News reported.

The order was issued by the federal ombudsperson Kashmala Tariq. According to the order, director general BISP Taimur Nasir and another official will remain suspended until the case was decided.

The decision was taken to improve working atmosphere in the BISP, the order said.

According to the ombudsman verdict, the decision will also prevent the suspended official from using any influence against the complainant or the case itself.

Read: President directs federal ombudsman to use latest technology

The complainant submitted before the ombudsman that hurdles were being created during the work

Ombudsman ordered the secretary BISP to keep the official suspended until final decision on the case was taken.

Last year, The Islamabad High Court (IHC) had dismissed a petition challenging the appointment of Kashmala Tariq as federal ombudsperson for protection against harassment of women at workplaces.

A single bench, comprising Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb Khan, rejected the petition moved by Advocate Rai Qaiser Abbas for being non-maintainable.

The petitioner contended that Kashmala Tariq had been appointed as federal ombudsperson against harassment of women at workplaces for a period of four years in violation of the relevant laws.

The lawyer claimed her appointment was made on the basis of her political affiliation with the (then) ruling party as she didn’t meet the required criterion laid down for the post.